La Polenteria – Soho – Simple Italian Food with a Difference

Old Compton Street – La Polenteria:

I like Polenta – Italian comfort food that you can keep in your store cupboard and cook up when you want something warm and filling. Wiki has an amazingly prosaic description.

Polenta is cornmeal boiled into a porridge, and eaten directly or baked, fried or grilled. The term is of Italian origin, derived from the Latin for hulled and crushed grain (especially barley-meal). Maize was not cultivated in Europe until the early 16th century. It comes from the same base as “pollen”. As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier forms of grain mush (known as puls or pulmentum in Latin or more commonly as gruel or porridge), commonly eaten since Roman times. Before the introduction of corn from the New World in the 16th century, polenta was made with such starchy ingredients as farro, chestnut flour, millet, spelt, or chickpeas.

Sold? Well maybe not. But, you need to try it before you make a decision. For me, it’s a bit like a pizza base, something that will work with all sorts of toppings – and at La Polenteria, entrepreneur Cristina Sparcaci is aiming to show the London public just that. She’s created a unique cafe serving a menu that may not be authentically Italian but that does provide the kind of food I can see becoming quite a trend.

I went along for a quick supper after another food event, perhaps a little fuller than I should have been given the intention to try the food. As a result we shared a salad to start – a delicious, light rocket, orange and fennel salad.

My main course of Polenta with wild boar ragu is a classic Northern Italian dish. I’ve eaten much the same in Florence and I’ve tried on occasions to make a ragu that has the right depth of flavour. Whatever is done in the Italian kitchen to create that smokey, rich, tomato flavour is not something I’ve ever managed to replicate. But at La Polenteria the ragu does have all the taste of Italy.

Baccala’alla Vicentina was a richly tomato based fish sauce and I’d have been happy to swap places with my dining companion. And there are more menu options that sound well worth exploring including a Burrata and fresh chopped cherry tomato option and Tuscan sausage with borlotti beans.

There are more salads and sandwiches, wines and craft beers to drink and some excellent coffee and desserts to round off the meal on offer too and I’m sure if I worked in the area La Polenteria would become a lunchtime regular with main courses start at around £7.00 for the vegetarian and vegan options. As it is, I’m looking for an excuse to drop in again sometime soon to try one of the sweet polenta dishes.

I like Pollenta too and this place looks very homely and minimalistic , I like such places. In India too we make pancakes with cornflour the batter is spiced well and served hot with various chutneys ummm

Hi Stevie!
Certainly the Wild boar polenta is one of the most liked, but if you like meat, give a try to our Goulash polenta! Yummy! Check our website for more dishes! http://www.lapolenteria.com
We hope to see you soon!

Hi Karen,
It was a lovely evening with Fiona. We hope to see her again soon and share a great dinner with our polenta dishes! If you are a polenta lover you can’t miss La Polenteria!http://www.lapolenteriacom

I’d actually really love to try this place. Polenta is not something I really cook or eat at all, so it would be great to explore all the different menu options. A great review. Love the copper pans on the wall 🙂

Dawn of Super Heroes

O2 London - 23rd February 2018 - tickets on sale now!

Following a successful run in Paris, France, 2018 will see the London Premiere of ‘DC Exhibition: Dawn of Super Heroes’, _a unique exhibition presented by with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products in collaboration with Art Ludique-Le Musée. Opening on 23 February at The O2, London, this one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrates DC’s rich history, unique mythology and iconic Super Heroes and Super Villains such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Joker.

Fans visiting ‘DC Exhibition: Dawn of Super Heroes’ will be able to walk through the exhibition, which runs in chronological order, with each room offering guests a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the mythical DC Universe. Featuring artwork of Super Heroes and Super-Villains such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, The Penguin and Mr Freeze, the Exhibition will bring fans closer to the world’s most iconic characters.

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